The present invention generally relates to equipment for physical therapy and/or general exercise. More particularly, this invention relates to a recumbent exercise machine which provides for the exercising and strengthening of major muscle groups in addition to cardiovascular conditioning. In so doing, the present invention includes lower body exercising coordinated with upper body exercising.
Elderly patients, patients undergoing physical therapy, and other patients in similar circumstances, whether at home, in the hospital or in another clinical setting, have special needs when it comes to physical therapy equipment. Often, the patients have limited mobility, age related illnesses, decreased ranges of appendage movement, disabilities, low endurance and need for therapy with respect to more than one particular movement or muscle group. All of these factors must be taken into consideration when designing or providing equipment for their use.
Those people who exercise for its many health benefits, and not specifically for rehabilitation purposes, typically desire equipment which is challenging, safe, fun, effective, convenient and which provides a benefit to a multiple number of muscle groups so that a total body workout is achieved in a relatively short period of time. When the equipment is for home use, other important considerations include durability and cost.
Numerous types and varieties of physical therapy and exercise equipment are available for both clinical and home use. Of the many types, two of the most popular include the stepping machines (hereinafter xe2x80x9csteppersxe2x80x9d) and the stationary bicycles. Each of these machines, however, has certain limitations concerning their ease of use, range of movement, safety, and the muscle groups worked.
Generally steppers include a pair of pedals which move up and down, thereby simulating the climbing of steps, in response to the weight and physical effort of the patient or exerciser (hereinafter xe2x80x9cuserxe2x80x9d). The pedals are connected to a mechanism which applies a resistance or load. This resistance is often adjustable so that the stepper can accommodate users of various levels of physical conditioning and ability.
One limitation of steppers is that the user is typically required to stand during the exercise. Since the user is in an upright position, a significant amount of balance and coordination on the part of the user is required. Because of the decreased mobility and coordination, this may prevent a patient undergoing physical therapy from using the stepper. A related limitation of the stepper is that it requires continuous close supervision when being used by a person undergoing physical rehabilitation. Close supervision by a physical therapist or assistant is required to ensure that the patient does not collapse or otherwise lose balance and fall from the stepper, resulting in an injury. A further limitation of the stepper is its lack of exercise or conditioning of the upper body of the user. Finally, steppers may elevate the heart rate and the blood pressure too quickly for unconditioned and elderly patients, potentially causing harm.
One limitation of a stationary bicycle is that the seat is a typically narrow saddle seat positioned above a pair of rotatable pedals having a fixed range of motion. The rotation of the pedals is resisted by a brake or other resistance mechanism. The user is required to lean forward to hold onto a set of handles, which may be stationary or movable. In order to use a stationary bicycle, the user must be capable of climbing up onto the seat and must possess sufficient strength, balance, and coordination to maintain themselves on the narrow seat while pedaling over a fixed range of motion and manipulating the handles if they are of the moveable variety. Often the elderly, overweight or physical therapy patient cannot use a stationary bike because of the above requirements and further because they require constant supervision by the physical therapist to prevent possible injury to the patient upon collapse or loss of balance.
As can be seen from the above discussion, there is the need for an apparatus which allows the user to easily get on and off the apparatus with or without assistance. Furthermore, the apparatus should provide a high degree of stability and safety to the user so that the user can manipulate the machine without constant attention or supervision. Additionally, the apparatus should be adjustable to accommodate users of significantly different sizes and physical conditions while still being comfortable.
The application of resistance during the use of an exercise machine is also very important. Many exercise machines today have resistance systems which offer nonuniform or variable resistance. Chains and cables used by present exercise machines create this nonuniform resistance. The chains and cables, because of their flexible nature, do not provide solid linkages to a resistance apparatus and may have instantaneous transitions between little resistance and full resistance. The elderly or disabled prefer a smooth consistent resistance throughout their exercise movements. The variable or jerking motions that sometimes occur with resistance devices using chains and cables could potentially cause injury to an elderly or disabled person.
The use of constant resistance in present exercise machines such as steppers is also difficult because of the arcuate or curved nature of their exercise motions. The arcuate movement by its very nature varies the mechanical lever created by the exerciser and machine. This variation in lever position will vary the amount of force exerted upon a linkage and thus the resistance felt by the exerciser.
Magnetic resistance devices are known in the art to provide smooth maintenance free resistance for exercise machines. Magnetic resistance devices vary the resistance of an exercise machine through the interaction of a magnetic field from a magnet or array of magnets generating eddy currents in a material. The strength of the interaction is a function of the amount of magnetic flux interacting with the material, the greater the amount of magnetic flux interaction the stronger the magnetic force. This relationship can be used to vary the resistance on a spinning wheel of the kind used in exercise machines. Present magnetic resistance devices use arrays of magnets that rotate about a pivot point to vary the resistance in an exercise machine. These present magnetic resistance devices do not include predictable fixed linear positioning systems which allow proportional step adjustments in the resistance.
There is also a need to provide a safe and easy way to exit and dismount an exercise machine. Recumbent seat exercisers today are usually mounted by stepping over the seat and sitting down. This leads to a potentially dangerous situation if the user becomes unbalanced and falls. There is a need for an improved method of mounting an exercise machine.
The exerciser of the present invention utilizes a recumbent seat which is horizontally displaced from pedals and arm assemblies. The seat itself is a full bucket style seat, including a seat cushion in a seat back, positioned at a normal chair height. This provides a safe, stable, and familiar seating position for the user. When used during physical therapy, the patient can use the apparatus with only moderate supervision, thereby freeing the physical therapist to attend to other patients or duties.
The user of the present invention is also provided with a recumbent seat mounted on a slide and pivot. The slide allows the recumbent seat to be moved back and forth to adjust for different body dimensions. The recumbent seat is positioned on a pivot so that it may rotate and allow a user to sit in the seat while the seat is perpendicular to the length of the machine, and then rotate into position to use the exercise machine. Thus a user with low mobility is not required to climb up onto the apparatus or raise a leg over a high center portion of a frame. The present invention has an added safety feature to prevent the seat from sliding while pivoting. A mechanism will lock out and prevent the seat from moving back and forth while the user pivots in and out of the machine.
Once seated, the position of the chair relative to the pedals can be adjusted, as well as the length of the handles relative to the chair, for the size of the particular user. The relationship and geometry of the chair, the pedals, the handles, and the position of the pivot for the handles and pedals is such that the movement of the user""s arms and legs will be maintained in a correct biomechanical relationship or form. The maintenance of proper form ensures efficient conditioning in addition to a comfortable exercising or therapy position.
During use of the exercise apparatus, the pedals and handles undergo their coordinated movement against a constant resistance force provided by one of the variety of known resistance mechanisms. The level of resistance provided by the resistance mechanism is smooth and constant because of solid mechanical linkages provided from the arm and leg assemblies to a cam, as opposed to chains or cables. The cam is linked to a resistance device and has been configured to maintain uniform resistance throughout the stroke or movement of the exercise machine. The solid linkages combined with the cam configuration provide a smooth constant resistance favored by aged or disabled users.
As can be seen from the above discussion, there is a need for an apparatus which allows the user to easily get on and off the exercise apparatus without assistance. Furthermore, the apparatus should provide a high degree of stability and safety to the user so that the user can manipulate the machine without constant attention or supervision. Additionally, the apparatus should be adjustable to accommodate users of significantly different sizes and physical conditions while still being comfortable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the limitations of the known prior art. In so doing, a further object of this invention is to provide a recumbent apparatus which can be easily mounted and dismounted by a user having a limited amount of mobility, with or without the assistance of another person.
The present invention also has as one of its objects providing an apparatus which uses a stepping or oscillating arcuate motion to provide a lower body workout or therapy. A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which uses an oscillating arcuate motion to provide an upper body workout or therapy. Another object is to maintain a smooth constant resistance to the exercise motions to prevent any variable motion or jerking that might cause injury to a user.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which is familiar to use and which simulates the coordinated arm and leg movement used during walking or running. To this end, the present invention also has one of its objects to provide upper body exercise which is contralaterally coordinated with lower body exercise.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a physical therapy and exercise apparatus which is easy to use, has adjustable resistance levels, is durable and which is relatively inexpensive to produce.
In achieving the above objects, the present invention provides for a recumbent total body exercise apparatus. The apparatus includes pedals which undergo an oscillating or stepping motion. The pedals are contralaterally synchronized with handles that also undergo an oscillating motion, providing the user with a total body conditioning workout.
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from the subsequent description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.